1937 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
No. of competitors7
ChampionsWest Ham Hammers
National TrophyBelle Vue Aces
A.C.U CupBelle Vue Aces
London CupNew Cross Rangers
Highest averageJack Milne
Division/s below1937 Provincial League

The 1937 National League Division One was the ninth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2][3]

Summary

The entrants were the same seven teams as the previous season.[4]

West Ham Hammers won their first national title despite finishing bottom the previous season. In the process they stopped Belle Vue Aces from claiming a fifth consecutive title win. Belle Vue did however go on to win the cup double winning the Knockout Cup for the fifth successive year and the A.C.U Cup for the fourth successive year.[5]

Roy Clarence Vigor (Reg Vigor) was fatally injured during a match at Wimbledon Stadium on 27 September. He hit a safety fence and his bike landed on top of him. He died in Nelson Hospital, Merton, three days later.[6][7] His death came just one month after the death of Stan Hart in the 1937 Provincial Speedway League.

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 West Ham Hammers 24 18 0 6 36
2 Wembley Lions 24 16 0 8 32
3 New Cross Rangers 24 16 0 8 32
4 Belle Vue Aces 24 13 0 11 26
5 Hackney Wick Wolves 24 10 0 14 20
6 Harringay Tigers 24 9 0 15 18
7 Wimbledon Dons 24 2 0 22 4

Top ten riders

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Jack Milne United States New Cross 11.09
2 Lionel van Praag Australia Wembley 10.53
3 Eric Langton England Belle Vue 10.18
4 Bluey Wilkinson Australia West Ham 10.14
5 Bill Kitchen England Belle Vue 9.88
6 Jack Parker England Harringay 9.71
7 Cordy Milne United States Hackney 9.38
8 Eric Chitty Canada West Ham 9.32
9 Joe Abbott England Belle Vue 8.98
10 Frank Charles England Wembley 8.96

National Trophy

The 1937 National Trophy was the seventh edition of the Knockout Cup.[8]

Qualifying rounds

Southampton Saints won the Provincial final and therefore secured a place in the quarter-finals.

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
05/06Harringay41-65New Cross
09/06New Cross76-31Harringay
07/06Wimbledon39-68Belle Vue
12/06Belle Vue80-28Wimbledon
08/06West Ham58-46Hackney Wick
11/06Hackney Wick60-48West Ham
25/06
replay		Hackney Wick65-43West Ham
29/06Southampton40-44Wembley
29/06
replay		West Ham55-53Hackney Wick

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
15/07Wembley50-58New Cross
14/07New Cross59-48Wembley
16/07Hackney Wick56-52Belle Vue
17/07Belle Vue69-39Hackney Wick

Final

First leg

Belle Vue Aces
Frank Varey 16
Bob Harrison 15
Bill Kitchen 15
Joe Abbott 11
Eric Langton 9
Wally Hull 4		70 – 38New Cross Rangers
Jack Milne 17
George Newton 6
Ron Johnson 6
Stan Greatrex 4
Joe Francis 4
Clem Mitchell 1
Norman Evans 0
Bill Longley 0
[9]

Second leg

New Cross Stadium
Jack Milne 18
Joe Francis 14
Ron Johnson 10
George Newton 9
Clem Mitchell 7
Stan Greatrex 3
Norman Evans 1		62 – 45Belle Vue Aces
Eric Langton 14
Joe Abbott 10
Wally Hull 10
Frank Varey 5
Bill Kitchen 4
Oliver Langton 2
Bob Harrison 0
[9]

Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 115-110.

A.C.U Cup

The 1937 Auto-Cycle Union Cup was the fourth edition of the Cup and was won by Belle Vue for the fourth time. The groups were decided on the number of heat points scored within matches, rather than match wins.[10]

First round

Group 1

Team PL W D L Race Pts
Wembley Lions 6 6 0 0 319.5
New Cross Rangers 6 3 0 3 311.5
Harringay Tigers 6 3 0 3 269
Wimbledon Dons 6 0 0 6 240

Group 2

Team PL W D L Race Pts
Belle Vue Aces 4 1 0 3 202
West Ham Hammers 4 3 0 1 190
Hackney Wick Wolves 4 2 0 2 181

Final

Date Team one Team two Score
07/10WembleyBelle Vue49–45
09/10Belle VueWembley61-35

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
New Cross65–43, 65–42Wimbledon
Wembley58–49, 61–46Harringay

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Hackney Wick49–59, 21–87West Ham
New Cross62–46, 56–50Wembley

Final

First leg

West Ham
Bluey Wilkinson 14
Eric Chitty 12
Tiger Stevenson 11
Tommy Croombs 7
Arthur Atkinson 5
Charlie Spinks 2
Jack Dixon 1		52–55New Cross
George Newton 17
Jack Milne 15
Stan Greatrex 10
Joe Francis 6
Ron Johnson 6
Clem Mitchell 1
Ernie Evans 0
[11]

Second leg

New Cross
Jack Milne 17
Ron Johnson 14
Stan Greatrex 11
George Newton 9
Joe Francis 6
Clem Mitchell 4
Norman Evans 1		62–45West Ham
Bluey Wilkinson 17
Arthur Atkinson 10
Eric Chitty 9
Tiger Stevenson 3
Tommy Croombs 5
Jack Dixon 1
[12]

New Cross won on aggregate 117–97

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Hackney

Harringay

New Cross

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ↑ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. ↑ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "1937 league tables". Speedway GB.
  5. ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Reg Vigor". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Wimbledon Speedway part one". Speedway Museum. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "1937 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  9. 1 2 "1937 National Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "1937 ACU Cup" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "1937 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "New Cross win London Cup for third time". South London Observer. 1 October 1937. Retrieved 16 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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